Fantasies
by K. Wyse
Summary: Rei's in love with her old boss, Mamoru; who's in love with Usagi; who's being seduced by Rei's new boss, Jack; who needs Rei to help him keep Mamoru and Usagi apart. But Rei hesitates ... why? (AU) >>Major spoilers in the reviews; read at own risk.
1. One: Sunday

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Rating: R (Language, Adult Themes, Sexual Scenes -NOT hentai!-)  
Title: Fantasies  
Author: K. Wyse  
E-mail: wyse_k@sammail.com  
Disclaimer: What others own, I DON'T own. So, Sailor Moon and co. are not mine in any shape or form. But, this story does belong to me.

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Fantasies

by K. Wyse

Part One: Sunday

Rei Hino did not particularly like Sundays. Anyone who knew Rei, knew that she had a strong dislike for the 'holiest' day of the week. However, no one really knew why. Whatever the reason was, Rei kept it to herself, though her antagonism at the seventh day was well vocalised.

Her boss, Mamoru Chiba, hypothesised that her almost hatred of Sundays stemmed from the fact that she had no family nor many close friends to speak of, to spend the day with. In fact, not counting himself and his cousin Motoki Furuhata, he struggled to remember people, if there were any, that Rei was (remotely) fond of.

Still, her less than loving attitude towards the day before Monday, resulted in her pulling much overtime at work. She seemed to rejoice in knowing that she was going against the Sunday custom of relaxing, by going to work. If there was one card that Fate had dealt Rei (that she was willing to admit to) it was individuality.

Mamoru had no idea how close to the truth his guess was, although, there was an ulterior motive to Rei's overtime. Mamoru also liked to work on Sunday afternoons; and he was possibly the only one who had no idea that Rei had feelings for him. He treated her like a little sister because he could empathise with the feelings of loneliness and alienation, associated with moving to a foreign country; especially since he was a migrant from her native Japan. He had taken her under his metaphorical wings and had never saw her as anything other than a good friend.

Rei had left Japan for the United States of America to build a new life for herself. There had been too many heartaches in the life she lived in Tokyo that she had felt the need for a fresh new start ... and what better place to do so than in the Land of Opportunity.

Armed with a graduate degree, fluency in four languages, and an influential politician for a father (who worked in the Diet Building in Tokyo), she was hired instantly -- as a secretary in the small firm of Chiba & Furuhata Accounting. Of course she was over qualified for her position, but the pay was good and the view was rather tasty.

It was obvious to Motoki that Rei was deeply in lust with Mamoru. Though why Mamoru had not noticed in all the two years that Rei had been with them, was beyond Motoki's understanding. In fact, Motoki was hard pressed to remember Mamoru's last significant relationship with a woman. Add the factor of Rei's incredible mysterious beauty to the equation, and Motoki was stumped as to why Mamoru was not attracted to the woman. Then again, Motoki concluded, Mamoru was not normal. After all, the man LIKED pulling overtime and he LIKED working on Sundays.

However, one particular Sunday ...

~*~*~

There it was again. That strange tinkling sound. Its ringing tones were like the chiming of delicate crystal bells.

Rei paused in her filing and listened harder. It sounded strangely like it was coming from Mamoru's office. Though why he would sit at his desk and ring a crystal bell, was a strange idea indeed. Then again, the man was frustratingly odd. While he liked to work on Sundays with her, he had not shown up the past two Sundays. Still, it may have been due to the Sunday three weeks ago when he had come to work more than a little distracted, and with a bright pink ice cream stain on his white business shirt.

The fragile looking secretary turned away from her filing cabinet while blowing a stray strand of hair away from her face, and looked in the direction of Mamoru's office. This week, he had arrived before she did, she noted with a puzzled frown. Then again, she had shown up for work later than she usually did because she had half-expected him to not come that day. There was a tingly feeling in her stomach and she felt excited at seeing him again. Now that she thought about it, she had not seen the man for an entire two weeks and he had not left his office since she had arrived. Maybe he had fallen ill those two weeks and was now catching up on work not done?

She glanced down at the file she held in her hand. The label read in bright red ink, 'Passions Media Incorporated'. The brunette frowned. The name sounded awfully familiar. If only she could place where she had heard it before. Or maybe she had read about them somewhere ... oh yes, they were that production company that also did talent-scouting among other things, and were often mentioned in the newspapers as the discoverers of new talent. As Rei thought some more, she recalled that Mamoru had been approached with offers of modelling contracts. His reply to them had always been a flat out refusal.

Sparked by imaginings of him in a Calvin Kleins underwear advertisement, all thoughts melted into the background as her favourite fantasy came unbidden into her mind's eye.

It would be a dark summer's night. A tropical heat would make the atmosphere in the office nothing but steamy and sizzling. Mamoru would stand in the shadow of the doorway, cool and calm, but his eyes would burn with an inner fire. His desire would show clearly as he drunk in the sight of her, undressing her with his mind. Then he would step out into the softened lighting, and she would gasp, because all that he would have on, was a red rose between his pearly white teeth. Standing gloriously in his birthday suit, he would growl in seductive tones, "Come here, Rei."

Rei snapped to attention. She was sure she had heard something. Had he really called her? As if in answer to her mental question, Mamoru hollered through the walls yet again.  
"Come here, Rei."

Rei practically jumped. Whether in surprise or excitement, she did not know. Her heart thumping madly, she smoothed her business skirt and patted down her long, black hair so that it was neat, before setting out for his office.

As she neared his closed office door, she heard the strange tinkling sound again. Though, now that she could hear it more clearly, it sounded, Rei was upset to note, like uncontrolled feminine giggles. Frowning and unhappily suspicious, Rei drew up her courage and turned the doorknob to admit herself into his presence.

She was momentarily blinded by the brilliance of the room. All the blinds had been drawn back, and the afternoon sunlight that shone in, focused its intensity at the very spot she stood. Once her eyes had adjusted to the incredible amount of light, she recognised the man standing in front of his desk, his back to her. Though, the shadowy figure that sat in his leather chair still remained a mystery.

"Mamoru-kun, you called?" Rei inquired.

With a start, Mamoru realised that his secretary was in his office. "Yes, yes. I did call you."

"Did you need something?"

"Not exactly, I wanted to introduce someone to you."

"Oh?" One elegant black brow shot up.

"May I introduce, Tsukino Usagi."

Rei's eyes bulged. "It couldn't be," she whispered under her breath. Staring at the shadowed figure who was making its way towards her, she thought she could make out the unique hair style.  
"Odango Atama? Is it really you, Meatball Head?"

A petite blonde emerged into the light with the grace of a princess. Her beatific smile shone good will and peace. Her elegant ensemble flowed over her figure, and outlined the luscious curves that seemed to have sprung to existence overnight. However , the regal air and sophisticated effect was ruined when the young woman let out a childish squeal and flung herself at Rei, embracing the Japanese secretary in a tight, affectionate bear hug.

"Hai. Yes, it is me. I can't believe it's you, Daddy-Longlegs. How long since we last saw each other? Two? Three years?"

"Two and a half years much too long. You've changed so much! Look at you!" Rei backed out of the embrace and took a good look at her best friend. Indeed, her best friend since elementary school, had matured into a beautiful young woman.

"The two of you know each other?" Mamoru asked, hiding his surprise well. Who would have thought it? Usagi looked more like a Scandinavian kindergarten teacher than someone who would be in the company of Japanese politicians and their daughters.

"Oh yeah! We go way back! Don't we, Daddy-Longlegs?"

"Daddy-Longlegs?" asked Mamoru.

Rei could feel her face heat up. "Yeah? You got a problem with it?"

Usagi chuckled lightly. "The reason, that Rei here, is called Daddy-Longlegs, is because of her penchant for spiders. In fact, when we first met in grade two, she rescued me from a Daddy-Longlegs."

"Spiders?" Mamoru paled.

"Yeah. I got a pet tarantula at home."

"Rei, when God was giving out qualities, he must have run out of Normality when he reached you." Mamoru shook his head. His secretary was weird with a capital, italicized, underlined, and boldfaced 'w'.

Rei was about to open her mouth and return his quip when Usagi tugged at her sleeve and grinned mischievously. Rei heard herself gulp audibly. Whenever Usagi had that smile on, she was usually about to drop a bombshell, and the news was usually something that Rei did not want to hear. Like the time when Usagi had announced that she had signed the two of them up for a mud-wrestling competition. First prize was an all expenses paid holiday to exotic Bangkok. Rei had been knocked out in the first round with a really, really bad concussion.

Pursing her lips, Rei braced herself for whatever it was that Usagi was about to tell her. Instead, it was Mamoru who dropped the bomb.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you this earlier, but I haven't seen you these past two weeks, ... and well, I met Usagi purely by serendipity, and-"

Rei had never seen Mamoru like this. He was always cool, calm and collected; always eloquent and well-spoken. He never rambled like a shy, nervous schoolboy. Geez, that flu or whatever the sickness had been, had really affected his head. About to tell him to spill it, Rei never got the chance to, because he blurted:

"Usagi and I are engaged to be married. Next Sunday!"

The pieces came together and Rei realised that Usagi had managed what no other woman had ever achieved -- she had captured Mister Heart of Ice-Stone, Mamoru Chiba's love. She had done so by dumping strawberry ice cream on to his clean, white shirt. That very act would have caused the man to have a mental breakdown, had it been someone else who did the deed. Instead, Usagi's clumsiness had captured his attention and subsequently his heart that Sunday, oh so long ago. Now, they were about to be joined in holy matrimony in a week's time, on a Sunday.

Rei hated Sundays.

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Japanese - English:

Hino Rei = Raye Hino  
Chiba Mamoru = Darien Shields  
Furuhata Motoki = Andrew (the arcade guy)  
Tsukino Usagi = Serena  
-kun ... _suffix after a name to indicate familiar male friend, e.g. John-kun, David-kun, Peter-kun._  
Hai ... Yes  
Odango Atama ... Meatball Head

Last Words:  
Praises? Comments? Criticisms? Flames?  
Send anything and everything to wyse_k@sammail.com, or simply review.

While I love technology in all its forms, HTML just shits me. I have tried my best to eliminate all errors that occur when I change to HTML format, but I may have missed some. Please accept my apologies.  
Also, in the story, I introduced the characters with given name first, then surname. Later on, Mamoru introduced Usagi in the Japanese way with the surname first. While this story is set in the U.S, because both Mamoru and Rei are Japanese they tend to do a lot of things (like introducing people) in the Japanese way. However, most of the story will be written in conventional English.

I hope you liked the story and will give me your opinion on it. **Part Two: Wedding** is coming soon.

C-ya!  
Wyse

Storyline (c) K. Wyse, February 2003


	2. Two: Wedding

Disclaimer: You know how it goes ... _I no own trademarks but I own story. I no make money so you no sue. Everybody happy-happy_.

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Fantasies

by K. Wyse

Part Two: Wedding

Usagi was her best friend. Usagi was getting married. Rei on all accounts should have been happy for her best friend, and in one way she was. In another way, she wanted to don a leather, biker-chick outfit and pump Usagi full of lead.

Rei sighed silently and adjusted her bodice since her strapless bra was sliding down. She hated strapless bras, they always made her breasts feel uncomfortably loose -- damn the misogynist who invented bras. Peering out of the corner of her eyes, Rei wondered if anyone had noticed her slight movement. She doubted they did; everyone's attention was fixed firmly on the beautiful bride who had just joined her husband-to-be before the priest.

"We are gathered here today, ..."

The small chapel had great acoustics and every sound was amplified at least five times; which was a good thing since the priest tended to mumble his words. As he began to drone on about the sanctity of marriage and how it was through the power of God ... Rei felt herself tuning out and thought back to the last few days.

The first shock had come on Monday when Mamoru had not come to work. At first Rei had assumed that he was preparing for the wedding with Usagi, or just plain spending time with his wife-to-be. That was until she had gone into his office to place some documents in his in-tray only to find that there was no in-tray. Heck, there was no desk to put the in-tray on. In fact, the room had been completely cleared of all the furniture with only the curtains and carpet left.

Rei had then stomped to Motoki's office and was shocked to see the handsome blonde man running about the place like a headless chicken. While Mamoru's office had been impeccably empty, Motoki's office was in shambles with papers, folders, and rubbish everywhere. She had slapped him up the head and made him explain the mystery.

Motoki had just looked at Rei strangely and told her straight out that they were closing the accounting firm. Mamoru had been the one whose responsibility it was to let her know about the decision a week ago ...

When he was romancing Usagi instead.

Rei had promptly stormed over to the neat and orderly apartment of a recently-made unorganised scatter-brained nut, ready to give him a large piece of her furious mind. She was also preparing to shove her four inch high heels up his rear.

To her horror, Rei had interrupted him and Usagi at a very intimate moment. Rei took one look at Usagi's erratically buttoned shirt and the way Mamoru was hiding behind the blonde woman in a half hunched position, and made an about-turn while yelling over one shoulder that she would talk to them later. She had raced out of the apartment complex as fast as she could manage. However, upon reaching the city sidewalks and before she could grab a taxi home, Usagi had caught up with her.

Usagi asked Rei why the raven-haired woman had come all the way across town to only leave again. Rei grew indignant. She called Mamoru a slob in some very nasty terms and explained how he had forgotten to tell her about the dismantling of the firm. It soon turned into a bitching session about Mamoru, with Rei making a few things up along the way. Perhaps, in some deep part of her, she hoped that Usagi would find him undesirable and stop the wedding.

Once Rei was done complaining about the man, Usagi just sighed dreamily and said plainly, "I love him. I love him for whoever he is and will become."

The way that Usagi had declared her love simply, with such certainty and sincerity made something in Rei's throat catch with emotion. The fact that Usagi loved Mamoru despite his less than stellar qualities made Rei think twice. She saw more love in those crystal blue eyes than she had ever heard from the words her father would obligingly recite to her mother. Pain lanced through Rei's heart and she ignored the memories that she had involuntarily dredged up. Rei focused on Usagi's sparkling eyes and caught the last few words.

"Sorry, what did you just say?"

"Have you been listening to me at all, Rei?" huffed the four-foot-eleven pixie. Then Usagi had grinned with good-nature and continued, "This is so ironic! I was always the one that tuned you out. Anyway, I said that since you are my best friend and also a close friend of Mamoru's, you should be my maid of honour!"

Rei had just stared at the beaming, child-like smile on Usagi's face and wondered if the world had gone crazy. How on earth could she be the maid of honour at the wedding of the man she loved?! That was the very question she posed to Chad, her pet tarantula; despite the fact that she had already accepted Usagi's proposal. Then it hit her. She, Rei Hino, loved Mamoru Chiba with all her cynical heart. How this little feeling had escaped her attention for two years was confusing, but now that Rei knew how she felt ... it made the whole situation worse.

While Chad watched from his burrow behind glass panes, Rei drowned her sorrows in a tub of cherry swirl vanilla ice cream. She had fantasised about and tried to subtly seduce the frustratingly unresponsive man for two years. She had known that she liked him and that she definitely lusted after that body of his ... but in love? That epiphany had really hit her on the nose. Now that she had come to realise the extent of her feelings; she had no idea what to do about it all. Spoon dangling from her mouth, she slouched into the grooves she had created in her prized purple beanbag couch and gazed into the depths of cherry swirl vanilla. Was death by ice cream possible?

As she worked her way to the bottom of the tub, she contemplated the idea of being Usagi's maid of honour and realised what an important role it was. Usagi had always been the most popular girl at school, and out of all her friends, she had chosen Rei. Recalling the ease that Usagi had befriended her -- the weirdo outcast' with no ulterior motives, Rei pushed aside her feelings for Mamoru. Her two years working for him were nothing compared to the almost two decades of friendship she shared with Usagi.

Through a mouthful of ice cream, Rei vowed before Chad the tarantula, that she, Rei, would wear whichever horrid-looking dress that Usagi would pick, grit her teeth and smile brilliantly at the wedding as Usagi's maid of honour. Even if it killed her. There were tears in her eyes when Rei fell asleep that night, dreaming of the great times that she had with Usagi when boys and love were the last things on their minds.

By the end of the week, Rei had come to grips with the whole my-best-friend-is-marrying-the-guy-of-my-dreams-and-love-of-my-life' thing. She was deeply affected by the way Usagi loved Mamoru and through some deep meditative thinking, Rei came to the conclusion that she and Mamoru were just not meant to be. From the tender looks that Mamoru constantly threw Usagi's way, Rei realised that he would never look at herself in that way. Neither would he ever feel the same love that she, Rei, felt for him.

As Rei spent more time with Usagi, the two women rekindled their friendship and Rei remembered the sisterly love they shared. No matter how much it hurt to know that her best friend had captured the heart of the man that she, herself was in love with, Rei felt even more sure of the personal sacrifice she was making. She was determined to see Usagi happily married to Mamoru ... even if it meant heartbreak's torture.

On Thursday, Rei met Usagi's three bridesmaids. Firstly there was Minako Aino, the beautiful ex-star of the popular Japanese TV action series: Sailor V. She had flown all the way from Tokyo to be able to attend Usagi's wedding. Then there was Ami Mizuno, a half Japanese, half French pediatrician who was currently teaching at Johns Hopkins Medical School in Baltimore. Last but certainly not least, especially since she was the tallest of them all, was Makoto Kino, head chef at the most popular Japanese restaurant in New York. Rei was overjoyed to see Minako since they had practically grown up together in the public eye of Tokyo. With the other two women, Rei felt absolutely no apprehension. Everyone got along like a house on fire. It was as if they had all been friends for all of their lives.

They spent an interesting Friday on shopping. Since the wedding was a rushed affair, there had been no time for Usagi to organise anything. From another point of view, it was probably a good thing that the wedding was rushed -- Usagi was not known to be the world's most organised person. Anyway, Mamoru had pulled a few strings and managed to book a priest and a small chapel for the wedding; and a moderately priced convention hall and caterers for the reception ... all in time for Sunday. So, all that was left was for Usagi to find something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue.

Saturday morning was a hectic rush of doing stuff as everyone checked and double checked EVERYTHING to make sure that the big day would go off without a hitch. However, the responsibilities faded into the distance as night came. The male entourage of Motoki, Shingo (Usagi's younger brother), Kunzaito (Mamoru's flat mate who had holed up in a seedy hotel to escape the lovebirds for the past week), and a few more friends of Mamoru stole the bridegroom away to enjoy his last night of freedom.

Meanwhile, Usagi, Minako, Ami, Makoto, and Rei, were all celebrating Usagi's hen night at Rei's place. It was a comfortable apartment but the fish-tank looking thing which housed Chad the tarantula kind of freaked everyone (but Rei). The group of five managed to watch two of the six wedding related videos they had rented (like My Best Friend's Wedding' -- Rei could REALLY identify with Julia Roberts' character) before they admitted that they were bored (and scared of Chad).

Determined to not let the night become a disaster, Rei called up Reika and Unazuki (Motoki's wife and sister respectively) and a few more girls she knew. In less than an hour, the venue of Usagi's hen night had changed from Rei's cosy apartment to the flashing lights of the town's hippest nightclub. The night was proclaimed a success as the entire group split at four in the morning and a very drunk Rei and co. piled into a taxi-bus to go to her place for some beauty sleep before the wedding.

The five women had all woken up with massive hangovers just two hours before the ceremony. Frantic with worry, they all took more pain killers than necessary, Ami's little bottle of eye drops was empty within minutes, and in a moment of desperation, they decided to take a communal shower in Rei's bathroom. Usagi had the privacy of Rei's bedroom while the other four were left in the lounge room to get dressed. When they were done, they hurried into where Usagi was and were dismayed to see that Usagi had in her haste, inadvertently torn one of the sleeves of her brand new wedding dress.

Ever the fashion guru, Minako had ripped off both sleeves cleanly and declared that despite the crime of mangling a brand new dress, at least Usagi still looked stunning. Then everyone had rushed for a place in front of the bathroom mirror and began meticulously applying their makeup. Amazingly, they were dressed and ready with forty-five minutes to spare to get to the chapel.

Before they all jumped into Rei's spacious Toyota Camry, Makoto had solemnly placed a laurel crown intertwined with long-stemmed white lilies on Usagi's head, over the simple ivory veil. She explained that she had wanted to give Usagi something more than the professional wedding cake that Makoto had made herself, and that this would be Usagi's something borrowed'. Anticipating a teary moment, Rei had ushered everyone into her car before the waterworks could begin. Part of the job description of maid of honour was to make sure that the bride looked damn good, and Rei would rather walk in front of a bullet train than let Usagi's mascara run.

In a screeching of tyres that would have made any motorcar racer proud, Rei had swung into an empty space in the chapel's parking lot with five minutes left until the ceremony began. While the three bridesmaids ran inside to pair up with their respective ushers, and to assure the bridegroom that he would not be left at the altar, Rei stopped Usagi for a private moment.

"The girls and I picked this out for your something blue." As Rei finished her sentence, she opened up a small jewellery case and took out a sapphire studded silver bracelet. A strange look had passed through Usagi's eyes as Rei fastened the present on to one slim wrist. They embraced briefly before rushing for the chapel.

~*~*~

Rei mentally stepped out of her reverie to take a look at Usagi, while squishing the feelings of envy. Something old: Usagi's lucky underwear from junior high. Check. Rei was just glad that unlike other superstitious people with lucky underwear, Usagi washed hers regularly. Something new: the slightly damaged wedding dress. Check. Rei hoped no one would notice the little rip at the hem from when Usagi had not stepped carefully as they had hurried towards the chapel. Something borrowed: Makoto's laurel crown. Check. Rei wondered at the significance of the crown. Something blue: the sapphire studded bracelet that shone against alabaster white skin. Rei felt like a proud mother hen -- Usagi looked positively radiant.

With all her might, Rei wished that it was her in that dress and that it was her who glowed like summer sunshine. Rei considered all her earthly possessions and decided she would gladly give all that up for the chance to stand beside Mamoru at that altar. She would even give up her beloved Chad. Rei mentally slapped herself silly. She was happy for Usagi's fortune. And that was that. Rei ignored her feelings and the wedding proceedings, instead, she concentrated on the irritating sensation of her bra falling down.

"If there is anyone here who does not believe that these two should join in marriage, let them speak now, or forever hold their peace."

Tension filled the room as the priest paused for a moment. Usagi looked about but her gaze rested on Rei. Rei could sense the love that emanated from Usagi but she could also sense the apprehensive face that the bride was making beneath the veil. Rei just smiled encouragingly and winked mischievously. The Japanese secretary figured that the bride was just nervous and needed a hug, as well as some liquid courage (to be obtained at the reception).

Thinking that the vows had been exchanged and the marriage sealed with a kiss, Rei began to step forward until she noticed that everyone had turned to face her with horrified expressions. She took one look at Shingo the appointed ring-bearer, and reddened a ripe red when she saw both rings still sitting on the cushion he carried. Taking a step back, she whispered to Makoto who stood to her right. "Let me guess, it's still not time for the wedding cake, right?" Makoto relaxed, shook her head in amusement and just smiled.

Suddenly, Usagi broke down in tears and the congregation stood up to see what the matter was. Had the beaming bride become mysteriously injured? Rei was beside the distraught woman in an instant as were Minako, Ami, and Makoto. The petite blonde shrugged off the comforting hands, hitched up her dress and bolted for the door.

"Maybe we shouldn't have watched Runaway Bride' last night." Remarked Minako with a frown.

* * *

Japanese - English:

Aino Minako = Mina Aino  
Mizuno Ami = Amy Anderson  
Kino Makoto = Lita Kino  
Tsukino Shingo = Sammy  
Kunzaito = Kunzite = Malachite  
Reika = Rita  
Furuhata Unazuki = Lizzie

Last Words:  
Praises? Comments? Criticisms? Flames?  
Send anything and everything to wyse_k@sammail.com, or simply review.

Ack, I have a sinking feeling that I made a huge boo-boo in grammar with my tenses. I would greatly appreciate it if people could e-mail the mistakes to me (I don't think FF.N will be too happy about me taking up so much review space with people writing in to tell me where I went wrong). ~_^

While it wasn't a big scene and it wasn't important in any way, I had Rei drown her sorrows in ice cream instead of frozen yoghurt because of my good buddy Char. Charlie Chaplin 2 (current author of another SM ficcie called "History") is a fan of the Martian senshi and has (in my opinion) an unhealthy obsession with ice cream. ~_^ I hope to write a more substantial scene involving Rei and ice cream -- dedicated to the ice cream obsessive, Char.

Now: "Is this a Rei and Mamoru story?" I hear you ask. MWAHAHAHA ... maybe, maybe not. Those of you who do know me will know the answer. Until the end of the story, anything is possible. In answer to Cherrystarr's question: those of you from the Shitennou.com message boards might know of a "major" fic that I'm working on. This isn't it, but that fic won't be long in coming.

I hope you liked this next part and will give me your opinion on it. **Part Three: Funk** is coming soon.

C-ya!  
Wyse

Storyline (c) K. Wyse, February 2003


	3. Three: Funk aka Afterwards

Just to remind readers: Copyrighted material not belong to me and I make no money; so don't sue. But don't forget, story IS MINE! This is rated R; kiddies, run away. On another note, in proper writing, quotation marks such as these: "...", usually indicate speech; and thoughts are: '...'. I know that a lot of fan writers use *...* or ~...~ instead, but I think that's a load of rubbish. Maybe my head is up my arse but I prefer '...', when indicating thought.

* * *

Fantasies

by K. Wyse

Part Three: Funk a.k.a. Afterwards

  


Short of becoming a member of the Witness Protection and Relocation Program, Rei could not fathom how Usagi had disappeared so thoroughly from the face of the Earth. And from the look of things, Usagi was not about to reappear in their lives in a hurry. It was almost like the blonde had gone POOF!; and vanished in a puff of smoke. The worst thing about it all was, she was gone without a reason.

Whenever Rei thought back to that fateful day, it never ceased to amaze her how one tiny slip of a woman managed to escape a bridegroom, a best man, a maid of honour, three bridesmaids, three ushers, and a whole congregation of well-wishers. Rei guessed that they had all been too stunned by Usagi's actions to even think of moving, much less chase after her. Then again, Usagi was the reigning Japan 200m sprint champion.

Makoto's laurel crown was returned in the post three days later with a _**don't worry, I'm okay'**_ note; but no return address. In a heart-to-heart talk, Makoto had confided that even as she worried over where Usagi had gone, she was glad to have the something loaned' back. Rei inquired about the circlet's significance but Makoto just bit her lip with a sad look and evaded the question. Rei knew not to press but the curiosity ate away at her. To distract herself, she volunteered her services as a tour guide for the three visitors and was sorely disappointed when they left a week after Usagi's disappearance. Shingo, who had only come to America to attend his sister's wedding because their parents were unable to, accompanied Minako back to Tokyo after he instructed Rei to use every resource available to find Usagi.

Meanwhile, Mamoru was a mess. When he realised that Usagi had not ran for the little girls' room, and more importantly that she was not coming back -- he went into severe shock. A screaming ambulance and a best man saw him into the emergency room of the local hospital. He recovered soon enough to make an absolute pest of himself -- he called every single one of Usagi's friends, including those living in Japan, and asked if they had seen or heard from her. They had not. He then called every single one of them again to see if anything had changed or occurred in the five minutes since he had last spoken to them. He repeated the round of phone calls many times until one by one the irate victims blocked his number.

Forty-eight hours after Usagi disappeared, and had not contacted him, he had gone to the police to report her as missing. However, the sneering officers said that it did not look like a missing persons case and left it at that. For moral support, Rei had gone with him. But when she saw how they treated Mamoru as some sick, twisted stalker, she was a kick away from being arrested for assault. Quick thinking Mamoru had sensed the shift in her mental gears, and dragged her away before she spent a night behind bars, again.

Ever since, Mamoru would sit comatose in front of his recently bought flat screen TV, unaware that the machine was not plugged into an electrical outlet. The CD player was on repeat, and the same song was played over and over again. Rei never figured Mamoru for a country music lover, but if she heard the chorus of "Broken Heart" one more time, she would go on a mission of destruction, armed with a baseball bat.

As Mamoru's flat mate, Kunzaito was of no help. He was too smitten with Minako to be able to offer male advice on how to get over being left at the altar. Not to mention that since Minako had left U.S. soil, Kunzaito was wallowing in self-pity on the couch along with Mamoru. The two of them made quite a sight: unshaven, unkempt, malnourished, and thoroughly in need of a good long bath (or at least a shower). It was just pathetic. If the situation were not so dreadful, Rei would have thought it rather comical. Instead, she often found herself staring at Mamoru.

Her mind would float in a meditative state and she would half wonder what it was that she had seen in this man. After all, he looked pathetic. Really, very pathetic. Though -Rei's fluttering heart would contradict- he was more like a cute kind of pathetic. Rei rolled her eyes at herself. The guy would be sitting on a stinky couch, scratching his balls, and she would still think him cute. Well, it was more the haunted, poetic artist gaze of his eyes that tugged at her heartstrings. Plus, he did look quite handsomely devilish with the dark stubble. She uttered a sigh. Nope, she was not over Mamoru yet and perhaps she never would. Maybe she was the pathetic one ... Still, now that Usagi was out of the picture, perhaps Rei finally had a chance to win Mamoru's heart?

~*~*~

That first week that Usagi was missing, friends and well-wishers dropped by every day but eventually the steady stream of support dwindled to just Rei. Motoki was tying up any remaining loose strands involved in the closing of the accounting firm and was rushed off his feet with no chance to visit Mamoru and Kunzaito. So, Rei was the only one left to worry over how lifeless Mamoru had become. Kunzaito was not as bad and managed to return to the land of the living a week or so after Minako's departure. Still, Mamoru was in a deep, deep funk. Rei took it upon herself to visit Mamoru's place at least three times a day, and she forced him to eat and take care of himself. The man was practically, for all intents and purposes, a chronically retarded invalid.

It was obvious that the man was suffering a deep depression, and Rei found it hard to even look at him now. He was no longer the Mamoru that she knew. The old Mamoru would have put aside all personal problems and focused on surviving each day without showing an ounce of the underlying turmoil. This Mamoru on the couch, however ... She hardly recognised him. It was further testament to how much Mamoru loved, and still loved Usagi. Rei never imagined that he could behave like this; to have changed so much in so little a time. Usagi had somehow managed to break down the wall upon wall of defenses that had taken Mamoru a lifetime to build. The fragile-looking blonde had taught Mamoru's eyes to smile. She had made him feel, and showed him what it was like to be truly alive. Then, she had killed him.

Mamoru had abandonment issues from his childhood and to have Usagi run away at such a crucial moment ... Rei was not sure what would become of the man, and her heart ached for him because she understood. She knew and remembered well what heartbreak was like. As soon as those thoughts popped up, a picture of a bespectacled blond man bloomed in her mind's eye. As always at the mental sight of that man, Rei would close her eyes and tilt her head back, determined to not cry. She would not cry over him. She had been mistaken about him and it was time long due to bury her painful past.

~*~*~

A month after Usagi's disappearance, Motoki had pretty much finalised everything and Rei was officially relieved of her position. She soon joined hundreds of other job seekers and on the second day of her job hunting, she learned a skill that she wished she had known years ago. It certainly would have been helpful to know, in that first round of mud-wrestling, that elbows were formidable weapons.

Despite her exceptional qualifications, she found that her sharp-tongue soon made all her prospective employees shift their sight on to the next job seeker. Rei complained to Chad over yet another pint of ice cream, after five weeks of unsuccessful job interviews, that life was unfair. Though, Rei made it a mental note to keep her mouth shut next time she felt like exercising her critical wit. On a positive; Mamoru was at least starting to function on his own ...

Weeks earlier, she had stormed over to Mamoru's in a particularly bad mood. She had been frustrated by her inability to be hired, especially since she was a heck of a lot more competent than all those blonde floozies who got the job because of their micro-sized mini-skirts. Grrr, it just wasn't fair! When she stepped into his apartment and heard the first verse of "Broken Heart", she lost it. Went completely berserk.

Without any regard for electrical safety, Rei grabbed the CD player and yanked it away from the wall. The good news: there were no sparks or stuff like that, i.e. nothing was set on fire. The bad news: the electrical cord was severely damaged and Mamoru was infamous for being rather anal about his high tech toys.

With incredible strength for someone as thin as she, Rei shoved the damaged equipment into Mamoru's middle and was more than gratified when the man reacted with a shocked grunt and perhaps a flinch (possibly from broken rib pain). It was good to know that at least some of his senses were working. She took the offending CD out and made sure to break it into jagged bits in front of Mamoru's eyes. The shards fell from Rei's hands in flashes of shiny reflected rainbow light.

"Get up!" She barked, her teeth bared in a hostile gleam. Steam practically poured out of her ears as she glared at the broken man before her. When he did not look at her, or showed further signs of possessing a pair of human ears, Rei was ready to scream. So she did.  
"GET UP, MAMORU-KUN!" She shook her fists at him as if it would prompt him to do as she bade.  
"Usagi has been gone for almost two months and you have done nothing but sit there and funk out. You mope, you cry, you listen to that damn song! Get a grip! She's gone! I have had it up to here-"

"Why, Rei?" Almost as if he had suddenly woken, he turned his head mechanically to face her, the movement had an eerie marionette quality. Then the hurt in his eyes hit her. Her knees quivered and waves of guilt drowned her burning anger. She had not really meant to shove the CD player so hard.

"Oh, Mamoru-kun, I'm sorry. I was just so angry-" He cut her off with a vehement shake of his head.

"No, no, no! Why did she leave me, Rei-chan?"

Oh. Emotionally exhausted, Rei felt dizzy and just flopped on to the couch next to him. He was still fixated on Usagi, it seemed. Rei could only sigh and close her eyes.  
"I don't know Mamoru-kun. I don't know."

"What did I do wrong? Was it something I said? Was it something I did or didn't do? What is wrong with me? Why can't anybody love me? Why does everyone that I love, leave me?" Rei flinched. She looked away and blinked back the tears. Her mind whirled as she realised how little she meant to him.

I'm still here, Mamoru-kun. What about me?' Was the thought that went through her head. She wanted to yell it into his face and cap him in the nuts. Instead she harshly chided him in a tart and brisk voice, hiding her hurt.  
"I'm not surprised Usagi left you. Look at you! You're a stinking, skeletal piss-pot. You can't do anything for yourself. You flubber all over the place. You have no control over your life and you expect a successful woman to love you? Get outta town!"

"But I wouldn't be like this if she hadn't left me!"

"Whine, whine, whine. All you do is piss and moan. Have you even gone to look for her? Sure, you called around and went to the police but that's all you did. Ever since then, you've stayed in this little pea-sized Mamoru-only universe you've built around yourself. You've tried to hide from the outside world, hoping she'll come back to you, hoping she'll beg for your forgiveness. Well, news-flash buster: she ain't coming back! Did you even consider that maybe this is a test? Usagi is a very special person, she can't just settle for any ordinary Joe Schmoe. You have to get out there and find her and then prove your love to her and show her that you're worthy of her love and devotion! God, you're such a nincompoop. As soon as she disappeared, you collapsed like a spineless coward. And what about your job, huh? Motoki-kun has closed the firm, so what are you going to do now? Sit on your ass all day and scratch your balls? You must think that she has spaghetti and meatballs for brains! No woman wants an impotent, incompetent, incontinent, inadequate imbecile. My God! If this were a test, you've failed big time, buster."

"That's it!" Suddenly enthused with life, Mamoru jumped up like a kangaroo on ecstasy tablets. He fixed Rei with fiercely burning eyes.  
"How could I have been so stupid?! You're a genius Rei!"

"Huh?" Was said genius's reply. Rei was still recovering from Mamoru's sudden movement. It had been like watching an inanimate piece of wood become struck by lightning and then suddenly evolve into a bona fide, electrified Pinocchio. On wobbly knees she rose to her awkward feet in an attempt to gain some height leverage. She hated it when people were exceedingly taller than her. No sooner had she achieved some sort of balance and equilibrium, then, in a spontaneous burst of joy Mamoru impulsively embraced her in a fierce hug.

Too surprised to realise what had happened, her natural cave-woman instincts told her to lash out with pointy elbows and pepper spray. It was only when she tilted her head, clumsily hit his chin, and smelt the smoky rose incense cologne that wafted from his pulse point that she realised she was someplace she wanted to be. Rei leaned into his hold and overwhelmed by the warmth she found in his arms, she could do nothing more than close her eyes and inhale deeply the scent of him. This was what she had long fantasised about -- a close intimacy where their souls bonded.

When he finally pulled away, he gave her a quick peck on the cheek before saying,  
"Thank you so much for all you've done for me. If it weren't for you, I don't know how I would've survived this. And I know I've been an absolute jerk for not appreciating you as much as I should have."

Rei was normally not one to blush, nevertheless, at his heartfelt words, she felt heat creep up her cheeks. In an effort to appear as if his words did not affect her so much, she punched him lightly and affectionately on the arm. If she still harboured any hurt or anger towards him, it all dissipated into thin air and was long forgotten. Part of her wondered if this was how it would all start. After all, gratitude could easily turn into love. The tips of her ears grew hot as Mamoru continued to shower her with thanks.

"You've been so supportive and understanding. You came over every day and took care of me. You are an incredible woman, Rei. I don't know how I ever managed to live without you. I've been a Class A idiot and probably deserve to die, but thanks to you, I have a chance to change all that."

The world stopped turning and Rei stopped breathing. Oh my god! He's going to ask me out, isn't he?'

"Rei, I am going to do something I should have done a long time ago. I am going to go to Disneyland."

Rei blinked. "Uh, Mamoru ... am I missing something here?"

"Don't you see?! I have to go and find Usagi! I just **know** she's going to be at Disneyland. She's always wanted to have her photo taken with Mickey and Minnie.

"I have to find her, Rei. I have to show her that she and I belong together. I have to prove to her that we're soulmates! She's the one, Rei! She's the one!" He skipped off like a school girl into the dark recesses of his apartment leaving Rei in a state of shock. Then, over the sound of running bath water, Rei heard him shout,

"And you owe me a new CD player, Rei!"

The ring of the telephone shocked Rei out of her memories. Her mind in a daze, her reflexes were slow as she stared stupidly at the black machine thing that was emitting shrill noises. She blinked a few times at the flashing red light of the answering machine as it kicked in and began to play the pre-recorded message.

"You've got to be a world-class retard if you don't know what to do. And for god's sake, leave a message, don't just hang up!" An odd scratching sound and a BEEP' soon followed.

"Hey. Mamoru here-" That was it. Rei carelessly dropped her half-eaten ice cream and raced for the phone as if her life depended on it.

"Mamoru-kun?" Breathless from the sprint, her voice came out in a huskily deep and sexy tone. Silently she congratulated herself. She would entice him yet. Hmm, perhaps some lingerie shopping was in order.

"Oh, you're there!" Rei rolled her eyes. No shit, Sherlock'. Rei mumbled some kind of response along the lines of "yeah". Satisfied, Mamoru continued to talk.

"Guess where I am right now?" The boyish quality of his excited question sent lustful shivers down her spine. God that man was hot. Rei's heart was pounding so hard that she was sure he could hear the syncopated rhythm of her heartbeats. How embarrassing that would be! Oh no, he was waiting for an answer! Hurry up and answer! Hurry, hurry, hurry ...

"Um. I dunno. I guess, ... in that crap-hole you call home?" Rei grimaced and walked towards the closest wall so she could bang her head against it. Good going you schmuck! No wonder he doesn't think of you in romantic terms, you're constantly abusing him!'

"Gee, thanks Rei." Mamoru replied wryly, sidetracked for the moment.

"Anytime!" Rei chirped. Again she felt the urge to smack her forehead against the solid brick walls. Her voice had been too-, too-, ... cheerful. Rei shuddered. With her eyes shut tightly, she chanted a mantra in her head, I am not a valley girl. I am **not** a valley girl. **I am not** a valley girl-'

"Since you won't guess, I suppose I'll just have to tell you. I'm in California. Disneyland to be exact."

**WHAT?!?** She composed herself quickly, thankful that she had not said it out aloud. "Um, why?"

"I'm here to look for Usagi, silly!" Rei's previously shut eyes snapped open. Oh dear lord! He used the word silly and then giggled.' Too stunned to answer, Rei remained like a mute.

"Well, I better go and start looking. Wish me luck!" Mamoru did not want another one of Rei's infamous caustic remarks to ruin the positive feeling he had, so he just hung up. For her part, Rei did not get angry at Mamoru's rudeness. She was too frozen in surprise to feel anything other than incredulity. Her doorbell rang and that shook her out of her stasis but to her immense disappointment, it was a door-to-door Mormon. Before he could utter a word, Rei slammed the door in his face; and before she could enjoy the satisfaction that came from slamming front doors, she remembered her ice cream.

"OH NOOOOO!!!" The damn thing had long ago melted and was slowly but surely creating a permanent neon coloured stain in her beige carpet. Hmm, neon coloured,' Rei mused, ice cream has way too many artificial additives. Perhaps I should switch to frozen yoghurt.' Rei's brows were furrowed as she bit her lip in a grimace, gazing at the spill and calculating how difficult it would be to remove the offending colour from the carpets. The ice cream looked like it was almost complete in creating its personalised stain. Rei swore and went to get the industrial strength cleaning stuff.

She spent the rest of the afternoon and some time into the night cleaning out the melted ice cream stain from the carpet, all the while muttering curses. "Stupid Mamoru. Stupid ice cream. Stupid Usagi. Stupid Disneyland."

When she went to bed, her tune had changed. Perhaps it's a good thing he went. The holiday and change of environment might suit him. Who knows? He just might find her. In any case, at least he's out of his funk. I wonder ...' By then Rei had drifted into deep slumber. That night she had a strange dream about a kingdom on the moon whose princess strongly resembled Usagi.

  
  


* * *

Last Words:  
Praises? Comments? Criticisms? Flames?  
Send anything and everything to wyse_k@sammail.com, or simply review.

As some of you have pointed out, this story moves pretty fast. This is happening mostly because this is just the beginning and I want to get to the juicy parts which is when all the characters come together. So, in two or three more chapters you'll notice the pace becoming slower. I'd also like to add that, thanks to most of you who reviewed, Chad the tarantula will have a bigger part in the story. And before I forget, as far as I'm aware of, the song "Broken Heart" does not exist. I made it up because it sounded like something that would be country and it reflected well how Mamoru felt.

Okay, someone reviewed that this story sounds like Firespirit's "It's Gonna Be Me" (btw, that's recommended reading). In fact, other people I've spoken with have said the same thing. I'm grateful to you guys for picking this up because I hadn't realised that (I'm sorry I took until the third chapter to talk about this). Yes, the teaser does sound quite like IGBM but once you've read more of this story, you'll see that it's nothing like IGBM. The main concept is similar (Rei and some male character conspire to break up Mamoru & Usagi etc.) but the way I write, and what happens between the characters is different, i.e. I am not plagiarising. I've spoken with Firespirit and she has no problems with this story. So, this is the first and last time I will address this issue. Thank you to all you sharp-eyed, sharp thinking readers.

I hope you liked this next part and will give me your opinion on it. **Part Four: Disneyland** is coming soon.

C-ya!  
Wyse

Storyline (c) K. Wyse, April 2003


	4. Four A: Thirst

Quick note: Story belongs to me, but characters not of my creation (e.g. Rei Hino and co.) as well as any trademarks and copyrighted materials are properties of their rightful owners. This chapter managed to explode to almost the length of the previous 3 chapters combined, so I've split it up. Enjoy!

* * *

Fantasies

by K. Wyse

Part Four A: Thirst

  


Utilising the dim light of her bedside lamp, Rei read her bank statement and all colour drained out of her face, making her feel faint. If she were a cursing kind of girl, she would howl impossible profanities that would make a sailor blush. The figures printed on the white A4 paper looked quite anorexic and were giving Rei hot flashes. Her hand trembled as she delicately laid the document to one side. A heavy sigh shook her delicate shoulders as she leaned forward to pick up the fat, black daily organiser that rested by her feet on the bed.

She leaned back into her mountain of soft duck down pillows and wondered how she had ever lived without. Life in America certainly was different to what she had been accustomed to, living in her grandfather's Shinto shrine in Japan. As she settled the heavy organiser on her lap, she grinned at the memory of sleeping on futons and the flickering candle shadows on the rice-papered walls. Idly, her fluttering fingers flipped through the creamy textured pages to the appointments she had made for the next day.

_9:00 – Job interview w/ K. Letterman @ Letterman Accountants (384 Ababa Street)  
-- v. v. far -- get up @ 5:45, leave by 7:00 -- hopefully avoid crappy traffic._

_11:00 – Job interview w/ P. J. Masters @ National Bank (21 Bellevue Road)  
-- guy sounded like arsehole over phone -- remember: keep mouth shut & SMILE!_

_13:00 – Lunch w/ Motoki @ usual café  
-- order usual focaccia? Or try something new?_

_15:30 – Job interview w/ Q. Nguyen @ Chan Chan's Authentic Chinese Food Restaurant (1173 Casablanca Boulevard)  
-- hope become waitress. But will take any job -- v. desperate for money._

Rei wondered if she had forgotten anything for the next day as she looked up, deep in thought with a pen tucked in one hand and her right index finger tapping repetitively against her naturally pink lips. Her eyes periodically drifted to her organiser entries, written gracefully in a confusing mix of Japanese and English, to bring her tired mind to attention. Everything appeared to be in order, she even had her interview outfit planned. Rei's violet-brown eyes pierced through the shadows beyond her bed and appraised the professional ensemble on the coat hanger she had carefully hung on the back of her bedroom door.

Rei sighed with fatigue. Her mind was far from functioning productively and she needed sleep. Besides, if everything seemed in order, then everything was in order. Before she closed the leather-bound organiser, she quickly scribbled under her lunch date with Motoki: _maybe only order cappuccino_, with her face scrunched up in a wincing grimace as she tried to wipe out the bank statement numbers that were burnt into her brain. Oh, she was sure to have nightmares. Probably about homeless people who were actually escaped circus freaks and clown college dropouts, trying to make her one of their own. Or there was that really scary one where _all_ the ice cream factories in the _entire_ world disappeared in a flash -- stolen by creepy little alien girls from Saturn. Rei shuddered at the memory. It had felt so _real_ ... even the withdrawal symptoms.

Rei got out of bed, and with one hand clutching the vital book with all her appointments, she padded to the kitchen where her handbag and briefcase sat. She reverently placed the book inside her handbag and double checked the contents of her briefcase before exhaling with satisfied relief. On her way back to bed, she made a detour to her phone and checked for any messages in case she had missed the ring of the phone. She especially hoped that Mamoru had called.

She knew that Mamoru had only called her the day before about being at Disneyland, but she missed him already. She wondered if he had found Usagi yet. She tried to calculate the odds of him bumping into Usagi at Disneyland and gave up on the mathematics when the numbers got bigger than two digits. Noting that she had no messages and that the time on the digital phone read twelve midnight, Rei yawned as she sauntered back into her bedroom.

~*~*~

_**Rei?**_

In the darkness of her bedroom, the raven-haired woman furrowed her eyebrows in her sleep. Her eyes moved rapidly behind closed eyelids, a sure sign that she was dreaming.

_**Rei?**_

It was his blue eyes that first arrested her. In the ever changing currents of her dreaming visions, those eyes and the emotion therein remained constant. Meanwhile, his face repeatedly underwent metamorphosis -- the features melted into each other and would then reform into similar but inherently different shapes. She thought she recognised him but felt that she could not possibly have. The intensity of his eyes burned at her, and the tender expression seemed familiar yet foreign at the same time.

_**I love you.**_

Love? Rei felt like laughing bitterly. Who was capable of loving her? Would there ever be anyone who could love her purely? To love her not because she was Senator Hino's daughter. To want her not because she was a challenge. To need her to the point they would go insane without her. Was there anyone who could love her because of her quirks and quick-temper?

_**I love you, Rei.**_

A lock of gel slicked dark blond hair fell forward in the corner of her vision. Kaido? No, it could not be. As the strand of hair began to sway in an imaginary breeze, its colour dulled to a soft sable hue. No, it was not Kaido. Could it be-? Mamoru? No, wrong again, as the face became more youthful, the hair more wavy and the colour more golden. Some male version of Minako? Maybe not; the eyes darkened to a turquoise shade of Caribbean blue, framed by long cocoa brown lashes. Who was this mysterious man? Then before Rei could puzzle some more, the face shrunk and mutated into- Chad? She stared at the unblinking set of eight eyes and felt abandoned when the beloved arachnid scuttled away.

Everything faded and focused before dissipating into mist. Heartbeats pulsed through the limbo of sleep and Rei slowly, slowly woke up. Her body ached with fatigue, her bloodshot eyes cried for rest but she could not bring herself to fall back into slumber. The dream receded from her mind and Rei felt so empty. So very alone. The back of her throat hurt as she fought back tears.

No.' She told herself firmly. There was nothing to cry over. No, she did not want to cry. She was just thirsty. That was all. Her throat was just a little bit parched and that was why there was that ache, she rationalised in her head. All she needed was a refreshing tall glass of water. Yes, that was all she needed.

She sat up in a hurry and felt dizzy as all the blood rushed crazily in her head. Unbalanced, she reached for the glass of water that sat dutifully on her bedside table. Still woozy, her movements were uncoordinated and it was no wonder that she knocked the glass on to its side and spilled the water on to her woolly beige carpets. "Damn."

Too tired to care about soggy carpets, Rei got out of bed, determined to get herself a glass of water to drink. She stumbled about her apartment in the dark -- her arms felt too heavy to turn on the lights and her fingers felt too stiff to work anything as complicated as a switch. Through the haze of sleep, she walked about in a dazed state, an empty drinking glass in hand. She made a turn to the right, sure that she was heading in the direction of the kitchen.

Pause.

Through half-lidded eyes, she noticed something odd in her kitchen. Since when did she have a toilet installed? So unhygienic -- a toilet in a kitchen. Confused, she made an effort to open her eyes further for a better look, but stopped trying after two seconds. Another moment passed, then comprehension dawned upon her. She was in her bathroom.

'No, Rei.' She thought to herself, 'one does not drink from the toilet bowl. Perhaps in a past life you were a dog, but in this life you're a human being who ... needs more sleep.'

Shuffling her feet, she turned back around and made her way to her little kitchen-cum-dining room. Opening her refrigerator, she saw that she was out of Evian so she took out a carton of milk instead and poured some into her glass. Before the glass was even half full, the last drops of milk began their descent from the upturned carton.

Rei was less than pleased. 'Great!' She growled sarcastically as she stalked over to her black Teflon kettle and contemplated boiling some water. She was thirsty dammit! But when she glanced at the LED time display on her microwave oven and saw the _early_ morning hour, she decided against the water. She needed more sleep dammit! She had a tough day ahead of her.

Settling for just the half-glass of milk, in one swig she downed the contents of the glass she still carried, but she soon regretted her haste. She had forgotten how sensitive her stomach was to cold milk -- a mild form of lactose intolerance. She was not looking forward to the rest of the night. And sure enough, within seconds, she was doubled up in pain.

It was then that the phone rang.

Rei rolled her eyes. It was true then: God hated her because she was not Catholic or even remotely Christian.

Wincing at the bloated feeling in her midriff, Rei crawled along her apartment floor trying to get to the phone that rang shrilly. It was enough to drive any sane person to a mental asylum. She paused just two metres away from the phone. What was the point? The machine would pick it up anyway and sure enough, the message began to roll.

"You've got to be a world-class retard if you don't know what to do. And for god's sake, leave a message, don't just hang up!" Rei smiled at the odd scratching sound that got recorded before the BEEP' sounded. Chad had tried to say hi' by scratching the glass panes of his container. Rei tiredly giggled with affection; her tarantula could be so cute sometimes. Hairy but cute.

"Yeah, I guess it's kinda late over there. Oh yeah, it's Mamoru."

Rei groaned as soon as she recognised his voice and slithered the rest of the way to the phone in agony. She struggled and yelped with triumph when the cordless receiver tumbled into her hands. As she opened her mouth to say hello, the loudest burp erupted from her chest and all of a sudden she felt better. The bloated feeling in her stomach had disappeared.

"Mamoru!" She chastised in hopes of covering her embarrassment. Though, the relief that the pain was gone, was overwhelming any humiliation she felt at having burped loudly into Mamoru's ears.

"Nice try, Rei. But we both know that was you. Though I gotta say, that's one impressive burp. Anyway, I did call you for a reason ... guess what?!" Rei rolled her eyes. Not again. Really, Mamoru's behaviour was starting to become annoying. He was like some hyperactive five year-old dying to tell his mummy every detail of his first day at school.

"What?" She hoped that her voice was pleasant and curious and did not show a touch of any of the cynicism she was feeling at that moment. She was extremely tired and did not really feel up to listening to Mamoru wax poetic about Usagi, or Disneyland for that matter.

Mamoru on the other hand had no intention of waxing anything, and cut straight to the chase -- aware that he had to catch Rei's attention before she fell asleep on the phone as she had once done when they first met. "I went to Disneyland today. And I saw Usagi."

Rei was instantly alert. She was on her feet in an instant and heading towards the kitchen again. She needed tea. She needed lots of hot, steaming green tea.  
"How did she look? Did she look happy to you? Did she look healthy? Do you think she's taking good care of herself? What was she doing?-" Once the questions started, Rei found that she could hardly stop herself. It was important to her, vital even, to know that Usagi was fine.

"Rei! Rei! Relax! She looked good, very good. Tired but good. In fact, she seemed happy and she looks like she's enjoying working there."

"What? She got a job that fast?" Rei could only wonder resentfully why Usagi was the one with all the luck before she realised: "And at Disneyland?"

"Oh yeah, she's a Disney character. Guess which one! Here's a clue, she's not Minnie." Rei shuddered at the thought of Minnie Mouse and wanted to smack Mamoru up the head for even mentioning the M' word. He knew how she felt about that mutant mouse who was anything but mini. In her opinion, there was just something psychologically disturbing about an overgrown rodent in a red dress with white polka dots.

Rei began to fill her kettle with tap water, ready to make some tea, as she thought upon the Disney fairytales. Who would Usagi portray perfectly?  
"Is she: Sleeping Beauty?" It made sense; Usagi was blonde, loved to sleep, and used to be quite accident-prone as a teenager -- pricking her finger on a spindle would be no problem.

"Nope. Usagi's character isn't blonde."

Rei plugged the kettle into a nearby socket and flipped the switch on before turning her attention to finding the tea leaves that she had especially imported from Japan's finest teahouse. She thought for a few more moments and decided to run with the cursed sleeping princess theme. "Um." Rei shrugged as she said it, "Snow White?"

"So close! Here's another clue. She's one of the seven dwarves." Rei nearly dropped her precious canister of tea leaves because she was busy having a heart attack. "WHAT?!?"

"Guess." Rei could clearly visualise the smirk that had accompanied his one word sentence. Mamoru could be such a pain sometimes. Rei smiled, but that was one of the reasons that she loved him -- the fact that she was not completely enamoured by him. Wait, that did not sound quite right. What about Usagi?' Rei's mind interjected. Rei just sighed as she scooped out some leaves into a porcelain teapot. It was all too confusing and this hour of the night was certainly not a good time for such contemplation.

"Sleepy." Came Rei's final reply. Whether that was a description of her current state or she was still running with the theme of sleeping fairytale characters, neither of the conversationalists were sure.

"No. Guess again."

"Happy!" Rei fired back, tired of the guessing game. "Dopey! Doc! I don't know!"

"All right! Don't get your panties in a twist." Mamoru placated. "It's ...," he paused for dramatic effect, unaware that Rei would have tackled him like an aggressive gridiron player had they been talking face-to-face. They both waited with bated breath as an imaginary drumroll filled the line. "Grumpy."

"Should've known." Rei muttered to herself. It was always the last thing that anyone would ever think to guess.

"What was that?"

"Nothing. I just wanted to know how you tracked her down. Or was it completely by coincidence?"

"Well, I went around the adventure parks and rides and stuff but gave up cause of exhaustion at around lunch-time. Just as I was about to sit down, I saw Mickey. It was like a sign from God." Rei resisted the urge to snort. Instead, she focused on preparing her green tea. She carefully poured the boiling hot water into the teapot and waited for the flavour to soak from the leaves into the water. Meanwhile, Mamoru continued to recount his afternoon.

"I took out the picture of Usagi that I always carry in my wallet, and I showed it to Mickey. The actress inside Mickey told me that Usagi was working as Grumpy from four to nine today so I hung around everywhere until four and then for the next five hours I watched as she interacted with everyone. She's so wonderful as Grumpy! She's not grumpy at all!" Rei furrowed her eyebrows, her expression perplexed. Was it just her, or did those last two sentences contradict? Still, she remained silent as Mamoru resumed his story.

"When nine o'clock chimed, I left Disneyland and went to my rented car. I drove it around the parking complex to where the employees were parked and I waited until I saw Usagi get in her car. Then I followed her home and waited until I knew she'd fallen asleep before I returned to my hotel to call you."

"All right, Mamoru. You have officially achieved stalker status."

  
  


* * *

Last Words:  
Praises? Comments? Criticisms? Flames?  
Send anything and everything to wyse_k@sammail.com, or simply review.

Tina Telford: I really tried to be more descriptive this chapter without completely changing the style of the story. Tell me how my efforts went. ... -starts to bite nails- ... okay, maybe I didn't try _that_ hard. ~_^

While I would have liked to release **Part Four: Disneyland** in its entirety, I was not happy with the middle section and am still battling with how to make it better. Nevertheless, I didn't think it fair to make you all wait longer when I had promised mid-July.

I'd always intended for Usagi to be a dwarf (considering how short she is) but I only realised after I had finished this first section of Part Four, that in the anime, Usagi played the Wicked Witch when they did Snow White: The Play. Oh well, ... -shrug- ... this story doesn't really follow either anime or manga, but I'd say I'm more influenced by the manga. That's why I had Rei burp, rather than fart, when she experienced her mild lactose intolerance -- apparently, manga Rei never farts. Though, why Minako wanted to know that, is beyond me.

Now, is this a Rei/Mamoru fic? Since four is my favourite number and this is the fourth chapter, I'm going to tell you guys ... in the next part. Hehe, aren't I evil? **Part Four B: Café** and **Part Four C: Disneyland** are coming soon.

C-ya!  
Wyse

Storyline (c) K. Wyse, July 2003


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